The Social Construction of Race, Class, Gender, and Crime: A Historical Critical Race Perspective

• In Event: Critical Discourses within Criminological Theory and the Administration of Justice

Abstract

This paper provides a historical, comprehensive analysis of the punishment of Black women in the United States based on socially constructed identities. It explores how the social construction of “true womanhood” created a schism in which White, middle class women were not only deemed worthy of protection from the criminal justice system but were also used to justify terrorist acts against Black women, men, and children. It explores themes of harsher punishment of Black women based on their intersectional identities of race, class, and gender. The controlling images created out of the social labor force these women were attached to, deemed Black women as inconsequential, and as such, their punishment often reflected society’s views of how Black women could and should be punished. This issue broadens our understanding of the development of how Black women have been overrepresented in the criminal justice system, punished more harshly, and often depicted as criminals, to maintain White male privilege. Furthermore, the use of historical methods highlights a continuous pattern and reproduction of punishment towards Black women who have attempted to resist against oppressive regimes in the United States. While this paper focuses on the historical oppression of Black women in the United States, it also provides insight into how other marginalized women of color have been punished in the criminal legal system.

Author

• Nishaun T. Battle, Texas A&M University, Kingsville